1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication devices, and more specifically to improving transmit and receive performance of a near field communication device.
2. Related Art
Near field communication (NFC) generally refers to short range (of the order of a few centimeters) wireless communication technology that enables exchange of data between two or more near field communication devices, typically by inductive coupling. Inductive coupling refers to the generation of voltage/current in one coil due to (and proportional to) a change in voltage/current (and hence the corresponding magnetic field) in another coil, the two coils being termed as being “inductively coupled” to each other (and which may thus be viewed as ‘antennas’). Currently, NFC communication is standardized and designed to operate within the globally available and unlicensed radio frequency ISM band of 13.56 MHz.
A NFC device may contain both transmitter and receiver circuitry (the respective transmitter and receiver circuitry being operational in corresponding operational durations termed transmit and receive intervals), and may employ a same antenna for both transmission and reception of NFC signals. Transmit performance of a NFC device is generally a measure of the power of the signals transmitted by the device in the transmit mode (and thus the effective communication range of the transmitter) corresponding to factors such as, a desired efficiency for the device and power supply voltage used in one or more portions (e.g., power amplifier) of the transmitter. Receive performance of a NFC device is generally a measure of the lowest received signal power that the receive circuitry in the NFC device is designed to operate with (also termed sensitivity), to reliably extract the information contained in the received signal.
Several embodiments described below are directed to improving transmit and receive performance of a near field communication device that uses a single antenna for both transmission and reception.